The final danger level of the Lilim’s Playground was measured as B-grade.
It was two levels higher than the Snow Woman’s Mansion in terms of danger.
Despite facing a gate with such a high danger level—one that would be impossible for an ordinary academy student to enter—Si-woo’s expression remained calm.
“Hmm, this will be easier to tackle than the Snow Woman’s Mansion.”
Unless something special happens, clearing Lilim’s gate would be several times simpler.
“I heard that Hunter Si-woo once had a one-on-one fight with an A-rank monster from the Snow Woman’s Mansion.”
“That’s not entirely wrong. But don’t expect too much. It wasn’t really a fight; I was just barely holding on.”
“Just that is already an incredible feat. Something I couldn’t even imagine doing in the past.”
“I don’t think someone who’s skipped two years at the Academy and joined the Arkineth Guild should be the one saying that.”
“I was just lucky. I was born with a talent for manipulating mana.”
The two continued their mundane conversation while preparing for the gate clear.
There were still some awkward moments, but overall, there was a sense of comfort between them.
“Hmm, even when you speak like this, you don’t seem to have any particular thoughts.”
Not just Si-woo, but also Cheong Ha-rin.
“… Is there anything uncomfortable for you?”
“No, there’s nothing like that.”
“If you’ve seen my engraving, you would know that many people find it difficult to deal with me when I suppress my emotions. While it’s an advantage in battle, it often becomes a disadvantage in interpersonal relationships.”
Si-woo nodded, seemingly understanding her situation.
Although for different reasons, he also struggled with relationships.
‘On their side, they can’t get any affection, but I get too much affection from the opposite sex.’
Even though he didn’t desire it, his engraving made him receive affection from others, preventing him from building proper relationships.
At least, he could get along with other men, but in situations where he needed to form a party as a Hunter, he had suffered greatly because of this engraving.
“My engraving doesn’t exactly help with interpersonal relationships either. Especially in the Hunter industry, where there are many women.”
“Come to think of it, you said your engraving is ‘Allure’, right?”
“The power can be controlled, but the targets are indiscriminate, so it’s a charm ability without selection.”
Cheong Ha-rin nodded as if she understood.
“I see. Si-woo, you must’ve had a tough time. You were probably avoided by party members for different reasons than mine.”
“Rather than being avoided… I just hold back. One wrong move and a party could disband.”
“That’s impressive. If you had bad intentions, your engraving could lead you down a path of corruption.”
“That’s the one thing I don’t want, so I try to avoid it.”
Never sell out your conscience.
The last line I’ve kept since my days working as a host.
Give them their fantasies, but never let them live in those fantasies.
“Hmm, it looks like the Association’s people will be coming soon.”
“Has it already been that long?”
As Si-woo drew his sword from its scabbard to double-check his equipment, he gave an awkward smile.
“Once this gate clear is done, I should probably get a decent sword.”
His usual iron sword and even the spare one he had kept for emergencies had both broken, unable to withstand the gumiho’s blue flames, so he had taken the iron sword prepared by the Arkineth Guild.
The durability didn’t seem too bad.
The iron sword, made by a skilled blacksmith, felt well-balanced with a swing that made its quality clear.
However, even if it lacked elegance, he preferred something more durable.
The elegance of the sword wasn’t that important to the swordsmanship Si-woo had learned.
If he enhanced his nervous system like Jeong Se-ah, even a simple twig could become an incredibly sharp weapon.
‘I’ll have to bear with it. It’s my fault for not having any connections with blacksmiths.’
If he searched through his connections from his host days, maybe he could find one or two, but it wasn’t urgent.
With this durability, it would be enough to hunt a succubus.
‘Well, if some strange monster pops up, that would change things.’
But would two of those kinds of monsters suddenly appear?
Lilim’s Playground boasted a landscape completely different from the Snow Woman’s Mansion.
When Si-woo had entered the Snow Woman’s Mansion, the sensation was one of mystery and awe, a beauty that could only be felt beyond the gate.
“This is… how should I put it?”
“It’s disgusting.”
However, the sensation Si-woo felt in Lilim’s Playground was one of discomfort, as if bugs were crawling all over his body.
The landscape itself was beautiful.
A vast field stretching out around a massive tree.
The blue sky, combined with the gentle mountain breeze, made the place feel beautiful, even though it was different from the Snow Woman’s Mansion.
“Squish… squelch…!”
However, creatures that were ruining the beauty of the place were prowling around.
“What’s that now?”
“It doesn’t seem to be a monster.”
Cheong Ha-rin inserted her hand into the black mucus.
Even if it wasn’t dangerous, she continued her exploration without hesitation, touching the mucus.
However, her face suddenly scrunched up.
“It’s the solidified pheromones of a succubus.”
“Pheromones?”
“It’s a trick often used by demon-type monsters. Even without compressed pheromones like these, they usually release colorless, odorless pheromones to disturb the mental state of Hunters.”
If a regular Hunter had touched it without knowing, they would have lost their rationality right there.
The solidified pheromones were just compressed versions of colorless and odorless pheromones, given physical form by force.
Even a normal woman with sexual desires could be turned into something as lustful as a succubus.
“Are you alright?”
Si-woo, unaware of the situation, approached Cheong Ha-rin with a worried expression.
If she had been an ordinary woman, a horrifying moment would have begun right then.
“I’m fine.”
Cheong Ha-rin wiped off the black mucus on her hands nonchalantly.
“I think it’s better if you don’t touch it, Si-woo. Unless you suppress your emotions to the limit, your sexual desire will overwhelm your rationality.”
Sexual desire is deeply connected with the emotion of love.
Even if someone was standing in front of you completely naked, if you couldn’t see them as the opposite sex, it would be like not feeling sexual desire at all.
No matter how beautiful someone was, no matter how perfect their body was,
if they didn’t feel like a potential partner, there wouldn’t be any sexual desire.
It was like not being aroused by the Venus statue.
“I’m fine, but Si-woo Hunter might be in danger.”
“Hmm, in that case, I should be fine too.”
The succubus’ ability was an application of allure.
This black mucus was essentially the solidification of pheromones.
It was just the compression of that ability, heightening sexual desire to its limit.
Si-woo lightly stepped on the black mucus made of pheromones.
Every time the mucus was squashed, Si-woo felt something slowly leaking out along with mana.
The sensation of intangible mana flowing and gradually burrowing into his body was distinctly felt.
‘Is this the feeling of being affected by allure?’
No, it wasn’t.
Ordinary Hunters don’t realize they’re being charmed until it’s already happening.
Even Hunters who’ve set up mana barriers beforehand can only recognize that something has broken through their barrier, and their mental state is being invaded.
It was impossible for someone like Si-woo to perceive that something was trying to infiltrate his mind.
“Hmm, I wonder if this is possible.”
“Si-woo Hunter?”
“Ah, just a moment, please.”
Si-woo accepted the flow of the allure energy trying to spill out from the mucus.
However, he wasn’t affected by the charm.
There were people who could handle the same type of charm, but…
‘This doesn’t do much for me.’
Just like Cheong Ha-rin, he didn’t have any emotions tied to love.
Suppressing his emotions like Cheong Ha-rin, Si-woo accepted the allure energy with a blank expression and began searching for the source of the mana.
It wasn’t possible to do an extensive search like mage-type Hunters.
But if there was a connection, even if it was faint, it was an exception.
‘The ability of allure can only manifest if there is a subject.’
Even if the pheromones were solidified and separated, it couldn’t be completely separate from the original entity.
Following the faint connection, Si-woo found that there was some distance between him and the source, but the mark of allure on his wrist gave him strength.
It was as if it was telling him he couldn’t forgive whoever had dared to try to charm him.
<…Hegeuk?!>
Following the flow of mana, Si-woo found the owner of the mucus.
He spotted the succubus with pink hair and, with a bright smile, he spoke.
“Boss monster, I’ve charmed it.”
“Eh?”
The steel-like rationality that hadn’t been shaken by the succubus’s charm wavered slightly.